Chapter 95: What Did He Do Wrong? That Was What Xie Zhao Owed Him!

So, she had decided to take a stroll through the department store.

But then she saw this bag from the Donghai Garment Factory.

It wasn’t exactly ugly.

But she couldn’t help feeling it didn’t compare to the ones from the Jinxiu Tailor Shop.

Her Auntie Liu’s family had managed to snag two of them, and had even given one to her daughter, Liu Qin!

And Liu Qin was her classmate.

For the past two days, she had been showing it off in front of her constantly, even carrying it to school!

Was that really necessary?

She was clearly carrying it just to rub it in her face!

Hmph.

Resentful, her expression grew even sourer.

The girl who came with her coaxed, “Hey, why don’t you just buy this one for now? When the Jinxiu Tailor Shop restocks their bags, we can go grab one then! Otherwise, when we see Liu Qin tonight, she’s bound to bring up her bag again! It’s so annoying to listen to!”

True enough.

The girl thought about it. It was only twenty-odd yuan anyway, which she could afford.

“Alright, I’ll take one then!”

She sighed, thinking that having something was better than nothing. So she paid, took the bag, and left the department store with her friend.

At that moment,

outside the door,

Chen Qiming looked ecstatic.

He turned to Huang Yuwei, his expression filled with pride. “How is my bag any worse than the ones from the Jinxiu Tailor Shop? Look how much they like it! Once these bags are sold out and my dad hands the garment factory over to me, I’ll definitely look after your family’s business! Don’t you worry, Yuwei!”

Huang Yuwei’s expression finally softened a bit, and her heart settled back into her chest.

A few days ago, Chen Qiming had come to find her and gifted her a handbag.

He had also said that as soon as the bags were sold out, Chen Donghai would hand the family’s garment factory business over to him.

Huang Yuwei, of course, hadn’t believed him!

But seeing the handbag Chen Qiming had given her, and now witnessing this scene, her heart gradually settled.

She couldn’t help but steal a glance at him.

Although Chen Qiming looked average and behaved crudely,

at least his grades were decent.

Furthermore, if Chen Donghai really handed the garment factory over to him, her family’s textile mill would have a guaranteed buyer.

Phew.

Huang Yuwei finally let out a smile.

She let Chen Qiming hold her hand and said softly, “Qiming, you’re really amazing. Thank you for the bag, I really like it.”

Chen Qiming grinned from ear to ear with joy.

He turned to look at Huang Yuwei, unable to resist squeezing her hand.

Chen Qiming could sense that Huang Yuwei had always been cold toward him.

But who was to blame for all this?

It was all Xie Zhao’s fault!

It was him!

He was the one who stole everything that should have belonged to him!

…

Chen Qiming still remembered it clearly to this day.

When he was eight years old, he had been eyeing the wild apricots Wang Jinhua had just picked from the fields, so he climbed over the wall in the middle of the night, planning to steal a few to eat.

There was no wind that night, only a light drizzle, damp and cold.

As he crouched down and passed under the window, he happened to hear Wang Jinhua speaking.

“That little bastard really struck it lucky! Back then, I went out of my way to choose the poorest family to swap him with, but who knew the Chen family would actually make money and strike it rich! It ended up letting that boy live a life of luxury!”

She muttered to herself, growing angrier as she spoke, her curses becoming viler.

Outside the corner of the wall, Chen Qiming stood frozen as if struck by lightning, his mind filled entirely with Wang Jinhua’s words!

What?

Swapping sons?

Who was swapped?

Was it him?

Forgetting all about stealing the wild apricots, he returned home, completely dazed.

Tossing and turning all night without a wink of sleep, he got up early the next morning and stared intently at his parents and younger sister.

They didn’t look alike.

Not alike at all.

He hadn’t noticed it before, but looking closely, he realized he didn’t share a single similar feature with them!

He had single eyelids, while Xie Youzhen and Tian Xiufen both had double eyelids.

His ears were large and fleshy, but Xie Tian’s were not.

Comparing them feature by feature, Chen Qiming confirmed that the swapped child was indeed himself.

A secret ecstasy suddenly erupted in his heart.

He knew it!

He was meant to be born with a golden spoon in his mouth!

The Xie family was simply too poor.

So poor that his life was miserable.

But he had only heard that he wasn’t their biological son, that his original surname was Chen, and that his family was wealthy.

Aside from that, he couldn’t gather any other useful information.

Later on, he stole oranges from Second Aunt Zhao next door and trampled a patch of crops, leading his father, Xie Youzhen, to drag him over for a beating.

Unable to take it anymore, he screamed out that he wasn’t their biological son.

From then on, he was never beaten again.

Since then, he had been searching.

Until he entered high school, when he saw Chen Donghai at the school gates.

Seeing their identical looks and hearing about Chen Donghai’s name and status as the richest man, Chen Qiming was so moved he nearly shed tears!

And so,

he found his way back to the Chen family overnight.

To get Chen Donghai and his wife to recognize him, he had even resorted to ruthless methods.

Besides hiring someone to beat him up and framing Xie Youzhen and his wife for it, he had also wept and wailed to Chen Donghai and his wife, telling them he had been swapped on purpose.

He claimed that in the Xie family, he was either beaten or scolded, forced to do the hardest labor and eat the least food.

Guilt?

He never felt any.

What did he do wrong?

Who was going to compensate him for the eighteen years of a good life that Xie Zhao had stolen from him for nothing?!

Only after returning to the Chen family did Chen Qiming realize that life could be so carefree.

He hated Xie Zhao more and more.

Until he met Huang Yuwei.

He saw the rejection and disgust in her eyes, and he knew she looked down on him.

But this wasn’t his fault!

If he had grown up by Chen Donghai’s side from childhood, living a life free of worries, he could have grown into the kind of man she liked too!

So!

Who was to blame?

Naturally, it was Xie Zhao!

He was the one who stole the life that belonged to him!

And now, he was merely taking back what was rightfully his!

Chen Qiming took a deep breath, the smile on his face widening.

He felt Huang Yuwei’s hand in his, unbelievably soft.

It was a world of difference from the calloused hands of country girls!

He couldn’t help but think.

This was the life he was meant to live!

…

Night fell.

The Xie family home.

After finishing his lesson and assigning homework, Wei Qingzhi called Xie Tian aside, lecturing her with a stern face.

“Why didn’t you finish your homework?”

Wei Qingzhi frowned and said, “Arithmetic is supposed to be your best subject. Why aren’t you even taking it seriously now? Have you gotten cocky?”

Xie Tian sniffled, feeling both scared and wronged.

“I’m sorry, Teacher Wei. I promise I won’t do it again!”

She had spent the entire afternoon glaring at Xie Yongchang’s third son in a fit of anger, all because he had eaten her flatbreads.

What a glutton!

And to think he was two years older than her!

Yet he was incredibly good at manual labor. A sixteen-year-old youth, he ate a lot and had strength to match; swinging his hoe with fierce energy, he could easily outwork one and a half able-bodied men.

Xie Youzhen was absolutely delighted.

He had also told Xie Tian to bring him some of the freshly baked flatbreads.

The boy hadn’t stood on ceremony, grabbing them and wolfing them down. As a result, only three were left of the white-flour flatbreads Xie Tian had spent the entire morning slaving over.

She was going to Xiangyang Town to study in two days!

Those were supposed to be her travel rations!

The more the young girl thought about it, the angrier she became. She had spent the entire afternoon picking fights with the boy, completely forgetting the homework Wei Qingzhi had assigned the night before.